


despite popular belief, miracle-gro is not a human growth stimulant

by Complications



Category: Bully (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, M/M, Only rated T because of swearing, Overthinking, does anyone really use tags?, is this fluff?, petey is a big fat nerd and he deserves the world, short jimmy, somewhat built petey, tall petey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-26 00:41:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30097656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Complications/pseuds/Complications
Summary: Petey is in a pickle.It isn’t necessarily bad, but Petey wouldn’t describe it as good either. Perhaps neutral? But, that almost seems like an oxymoron; wouldn’t a “neutral problem” not be a problem at all?Petey sighs, and decides to go over the facts, hoping that maybe the third time actually is the charm.
Relationships: Jimmy Hopkins & Peter "Petey" Kowalski, Jimmy Hopkins/Peter "Petey" Kowalski
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	despite popular belief, miracle-gro is not a human growth stimulant

**Author's Note:**

> to the 3 whole people who will read this fic: 
> 
> this is the product of me getting tired of the whole “Petey and Gary having a toxic relationship that petey always runs back to” trope and my 2am thought of ‘what if petey became fucking tall out of nowhere?’. 
> 
> it’s my first time writing a fic, and it’s not beta-d. i also had no clue how to format this. feel free to leave constructive criticism. or non-constructive criticism. ill take either. 
> 
> could be read as Jimmy/petey, but could also be read as Jimmy + Petey friendship. depends on who you consider petey’s special someone to be.

Petey is in a pickle. 

It isn’t necessarily _ bad _ , but Petey wouldn’t describe it as good either. Perhaps neutral? But, that almost seems like an oxymoron; wouldn’t a “neutral problem” not be a problem at all? 

Petey sighs, and decides to go over the facts, hoping that maybe the third time actually  _ is _ the charm.

**1\. His appearance has changed.**

There are various reasons for this, that Petey supposes he could make subcategories of, but he thinks that might be a little too nerdy. But, then again, making this list in the first place is a bit nerdy. 

**1a. He grew taller.**

He always expected to be fairly tall, since his dad towers at around 6’5. He just didn’t expect to grow almost 10 inches over  _ one summer _ , standing at 6’2 at the beginning of his junior year. It was certainly a shock.

“What the fuck? Did someone put miracle-gro in your cereal?” was the first thing Petey was greeted with upon entering the Bullworth dorms on the first day of school. Unfortunately for Jimmy, he hadn’t been as lucky as Petey; he stood at a measly 5’5” at the start of junior year. 

Petey’s response to Jimmy was a reminder that, not only is fertilizer not a stimulant for human growth, but he’s lactose intolerant, making the whole scenario impossible. Jimmy just shook his head, “At least you’re still the same Petey.”

**1b. He has gained some muscle**. 

Upon Jimmy’s insistence that ‘working out is a part of a balanced lifestyle, or something’ and that it’s ‘not just for jocks and bullies’, Petey started to exercise more. He started with simple calisthenics: running, push ups, sit ups, leg lifts, squats. In particular, Petey found an appreciation for a nice run; despite the air quality at Bullworth being questionable at best, running always allowed him to decompress and clear his mind. It was oddly comforting, even if his slight asthma would flair up towards the end and he would stumble into the dorms wheezing. 

After Jimmy deemed him ready, Petey moved on to the equipment. He had never seen the inside of the weight room before; there were always jocks, or at least the fear of jocks, looming over Petey’s head. Now, with Jimmy as the “King of Bullworth” (which both boys admitted, was basically like saying ‘King of Shit’), Petey essentially had free reign of the campus. This included the formerly off-limits weight room.

Petey admits that Jimmy did have a point; after exercising regularly, Petey just feels _ better _ . Forget about all the ‘getting henched’ bullshit; Petey wakes up every morning feeling more energized, he feels like he can focus a little bit better, and he’s overall just in a better mood. 

Being in a better mood could also be attributed to a lack of Gary in Petey’s life, but he does think the exercise does contribute. 

Regardless, sometimes Jimmy isn’t as dumb as everyone thinks he is. 

Due to this change in appearance, as well as some other factors, people have started to treat Petey differently. This brings us to fact #2.

**2\. Petey does not get bullied anymore.**

**2a. Petey is friends with Jimmy, and people are afraid of getting on Jimmy’s bad side.**

This one, Petey figures, is pretty self-explanatory. With the massive influence his friend has, it’s really no wonder why Petey isn’t shoved in trash cans or called a femme boy anymore. However, Petey does notice that, even when Jimmy is nowhere in sight, he isn’t even looked at in a malicious way. This point alone suggests the existence of another point. Hence, point 2b.

**2b. In connection to points 1a and 1b, his appearance has gained him a degree of respect.**

Bullworth is nothing if not shallow. If you look like a nerd, you are a nerd. No if, ands, or buts. And with Petey’s newfound height and weight, he no longer looks like a nerd. So therefore, he isn’t treated like one anymore. 

This logic is obviously very faulty; while Petey doesn’t look like a nerd anymore, he certainly still is one. Yesterday he got into a debate with Algernon about which method of solving multi variable volume optimization problems is more efficient. This very afternoon Petey spent hours tutoring Jimmy in chemistry, excitedly explaining intermolecular forces in-depth. 

Petey supposes that a nerd is categorized by their desire to _ learn _ . And Petey knows that he will never lose that desire, no matter how much his appearance changes. 

Fact #3 ties in rather nicely with fact #2.

**3\. In addition to the lack of bullying, Petey gets _positive_** **attention from everyone at school in the form of friendship offers as well as romantic ones.**

There are two main reasons why Petey could be getting this attention:

**3a. People want to use him to get to Jimmy.**

This is something Petey is used to at this point. People want to get close to Jimmy, whether it be because they idolize him or because they want to take him down. Petey’s gotten good at spotting those kinds of people. They only ask questions about Jimmy, only want to hang out if Jimmy tags along, and don’t show an interest in Petey unless they sense him drifting away. 

Jimmy hates those kinds of people. 

“What the fuck is wrong with people? Like, I get it, I’m irresistible. But they should just tell me that. Not go through you.”

Even though Jimmy remains to be one of the shorter boys at Bullworth (even now, at the end of senior year, he’s still only 5’6”), he’s still one of the most sought out by the ladies. Jimmy thinks it’s because of his confidence. Petey thinks it’s because, despite Jimmy’s rough exterior, he treats girls like normal human beings. Which, unfortunately, is a rare occurrence at Bullworth. 

Petey rolls his eyes at Jimmy’s ego, “Uh huh, irresistible. Sure.” 

Jimmy just smirks, “You know it, baby.” 

Petey just rolls his eyes again and shoves Jimmy’s shoulder in response. Jimmy laughs. 

**3b: People actually want _him_. **

This one is slightly less common than the former, but it’s surprisingly uncommon. Guys and girls from various cliques have approached him and actually wanted to talk to him. Before Jimmy, everyone pretty much ignored Petey unless they wanted him to do their homework. Except for Gary, but Petey doesn’t like to think about Gary too much.

If anyone talking to Petey about anything but homework was uncharted territory, girls flirting with him was essentially the Bermuda Triangle of Petey’s ocean of experience. But, because of Petey’s changes in appearance, he was getting a lot more female attention. 

The first girl was Beatrice. Petey always knew she was genuine, because she liked him even before his “transformation”. They never dated, mostly because Petey didn’t feel ready to date, but there was an unspoken understanding that they both felt something. 

After his growth spurt, she  _ really _ liked him. Along with a handful of other girls: Melanie, Jenny, Tabitha, and Grace. At least, that’s what Jimmy tells him; Petey’s never been good at noticing these things. 

“She totally has the hots for you,” Jimmy says after they pass Tabitha Richards on their way to chemistry, “Didn’t you see how she was eyeing you when she said ‘hello’?” 

“Did she look at me weird? I didn’t notice.” 

“She was fucking you with her eyes!” 

“It was hard for me to tell, since she’s wearing those huge lashes,” Petey responds, “Regardless, it’s not really that important. Did you finish the chem homework? I know I wasn’t able to help you with it yesterday, but-“

“Yeah, yeah, I did it. God, maybe smarts is contagious.” 

Petey’s about to open his mouth to say that ‘smarts’ are not comparable to diseases, but the content look on Jimmy’s face makes him decide not to. Instead, he just playfully bumps Jimmy’s shoulder before Jimmy opens the door to the chemistry classroom. 

“And to think I was gonna hold the door for you.” 

He does anyway.

\--

It is due to the combination of these 3 facts that Petey finds himself in a tricky situation.

Prom is approaching, and he needs to decide what he is going to do about the whole ‘date situation’.

If Petey hadn’t come into this newfound relevance at Bullworth, this wouldn’t be an issue. He would simply not go; while attendance is encouraged, it’s not mandatory. That is, as long as you stay in the dorm building after curfew. No one would have missed his presence or questioned his whereabouts, and he could’ve just had a peaceful night to himself. 

But now, due to the newfound attention he has garnered within the past year, Petey feels weirdly obligated to attend. 

Petey does have options though, each with pros and cons. 

**Option 1: Take Beatrice as a date.**

This option would probably make the most sense. They used to have that chemistry (and not just the kind that occurs between aqueous solutions), and they both get along. However, this option has one fatal flaw: he would be leading Beatrice on. Because it’s been two whole years since Petey felt anything other than friendship for her, and he doesn’t think it would be fair to her to give her false hope. So option 1 seems like an all-around bad idea. 

**Option 2: Take one of the other girls who’ve expressed interest.**

This option is just bad. Not only does it have the same flaw as the first, it also has the added con of Petey forcing himself to hang out with a girl he’s not even friends with. This option is quickly disregarded. 

**Option 3: Go alone.**

This option seems like the best one. He hurts no one, and he doesn’t force himself to hang out with people he doesn’t like. It seems like a win-win. But the thought of standing alone at the side of the gym makes Petey want to crawl into a hole, and the thought of trying to dance makes Petey want to actually disintegrate. No one ever told him that matter how big and strong you get, your awkwardness never goes away. 

So, while this option is not totally disregarded, it’s still not the option Petey really wants to go through with. 

Petey sighs and leans back in his desk chair, his eyes drifting from his desk to the window. It’s a nice day; it’s fairly temperate, which is evident by the various students in short sleeves, and the sun is shining over the campus. It almost makes Bullworth Academy look like a  _ nice _ place to be. That is, until you notice the heaps of litter around the campus and a gaggle of bullies trying to toss Cornelius into a trash can. 

“You’ve been staring off into space and sighing for the past hour. What gives?” Jimmy says from his reclined position on Petey’s bed. Petey jumps at the sudden comment, and turns to face Jimmy.

“I thought you were sleeping.”

“I was, until I wasn’t. You didn’t answer my question.” 

There's a brief pause.

“What are your plans for prom?” Petey asks.

“Hm,” Jimmy turns his head up in thought, as if this is the first time he had even considered his prom plans. Knowing Jimmy, it probably was.

“I dunno. I’ll probably show up for little, then sneak off to the beach house,” Jimmy’s tone shifts from serious to playful, “What, thinking about asking a special someone to be your date?”

Petey wrinkles his nose, “No.” 

Jimmy pouts, “Aw, c'mon.”

“Absolutely not.”

Jimmy shrugs, “It was worth a shot.”

They’re silent for a moment, before Jimmy realizes that Petey never gave an answer. 

“So, if you’re not asking someone out, what’s got your panties in a twist?” 

For some reason, when Jimmy says this, it doesn’t feel like an insult. Petey remembers Gary saying this to him all the time; whenever he’d get worked up about something, or when he’d be stressed about something, Gary would always be around to mock him. When Gary said it, he felt like he was being dehumanized; like he was being too emotional, too girlish, too sensitive. It made him feel like his emotions didn’t matter. 

When Jimmy says it, Petey feels the opposite. He feels like Jimmy actually wants to know what’s bugging him, like Jimmy actually cares when something is wrong. It doesn’t feel like a mockery of his emotions; it feels like an invitation to express them. Because Jimmy actually  _ does _ care. 

Petey thinks a moment before speaking, “I was just thinking about how much I don’t really want to go to prom. I know I have to go, but the thought of it is just.... exhausting.”

“Why?” 

“Dancing and parties just aren’t my thing, and-“

“Not that. I know that. Why do you have to go to prom? Are your folks forcing you to?” 

“Well, no. I just feel like I, yknow,  _ have  _ to go. Since I’m not, like, a nerd anymore. If that makes sense.”

“First of all, you’re still nerd. Second of all, no one really cares if you go to prom, “ Petey looks at Jimmy incredulously, and Jimmy continues, “Just think about it. In a year from now, who’s really gonna remember that Peter Kowalski didn’t go to prom?” 

Petey is taken aback by Jimmy’s response. He hadn't thought of it that way. 

“When you put it that way, it all seems so obvious.” 

Jimmy snorts and swings his legs to the side of the bed before walking over to Petey’s desk, “That’s because it is.” 

After a moment of thought, Petey responds, “But what if people, like, question me tomorrow? Won’t they think I’m pretty lame for not going?” 

Petey can identify the exact moment when Jimmy withholds the urge to roll his eyes. 

“You think way too much about what others think of you. Who cares if they think you’re lame? If you're afraid of the bullies, I’m pretty sure the worst of your bullying is behind you,” Jimmy shifts his weight to lean on the desk and thinks for a moment. 

Petey takes the moment of silence to reflect. He really has come far; it seems like just yesterday he was just a mousy kid trapped in Gary's toxic influence because he had nowhere else to run. Now, while he's still mousy and nerdy, Petey has found confidence in just being himself. He may not have a lot of friends, but the ones he has genuinely _care_ about him and want to see him thrive. Petey has gone through all of this struggle, just to let what people think of him force him to go to prom? It all just seems kind of silly when you put it that way, but it's not like Petey can just turn off his anxieties. 

“I have a solution," Jimmy says, pulling Petey away from his thoughts, "We show up, make our grand appearance, and then sneak off to the beach house after king and queen announcements.” 

Petey can’t help but feel embarrassed about how he spent the last  _ hour  _ thinking about solutions to his problem, and only came up with three mediocre at best options, while Jimmy spent a grand total of thirty seconds thinking and has already come up with a perfectly reasonable solution.

Well, reasonable except for one minor detail. 

“Only if we’re back at the dorms before curfew.” 

Jimmy sighs, “Fine. You got a deal, goody-two-shoes.” 

The insult didn’t have any bite to it, and it was almost affectionate. Of course, Jimmy would deny it if asked; however, the smile on his face says otherwise. 

Petey just smiles, and looks back out the window. Everything always just seems so natural with Jimmy; he doesn’t feel awkward or stressed or anxious. Petey can just be himself, and he knows that Jimmy will do the same. 

As the prefects finally decide to intervene in the situation with Cornelius and the bullies, Petey decides to add one last fact to his mental list:

**4\. The above facts (1, 2, and 3) are completely unimportant in the grand scheme of things.**

Because Petey is happy, and that’s all that really matters. 

**Author's Note:**

> if you spot any grammar errors/general things that you think sucked about this fic, please lmk.


End file.
